


Inspiration Day: Three's a Crowd

by lanalucy



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bets & Wagers, Community: bsg_epics, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Multi, Polyfidelity, Post-Canon, References to Sex, Relationship Negotiation, Teasing, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 15:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the group marriage/relationship backstory presented in <i>Caprica</i>.<br/>Pick a couple.  Lee/Kara<br/>Write a ficlet where your pairing and the prompted character are in a relationship together.</p><p>Most of these ficlets turned out to be about the start of the relationship, rather than a piece of an established one.  :shrugs:</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Adapt

**Author's Note:**

> These are not exactly chapters, but that seems the easiest way to present these ficlets to avoid confusion.
> 
> And seriously, don't blame me. I need brain bleach for some of these.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zarek

They’d landed on Earth and somehow Lee had gotten lucky and Kara had stuck around. She’d randomly disappear every so often, though, and after a while he noticed that his chief political advisor (and how the hell had  _that_ happened?) always disappeared at the same time.  
  
When he asked Zarek about it, he answered with a shrug and said, “I think maybe she needs the same thing I do - to spend time with someone who doesn’t know or care who I used to be. She’s inexhaustible, doesn’t pull her punches, has a wicked sense of humor, and she never takes what I say the wrong way. She’s fun, and I don’t get that anywhere else, to be honest.”  
  
Lee had nodded and they’d moved on to discussing how they were going to implement the newest proposed changes in the local governing council, but a part of his brain had been distracted for the rest of the day considering what Zarek had told him. He thought everything through and before he could talk himself out of it, sent messages to both Kara and Zarek to meet him that evening at the picnic spot in the canyon outside the settlement.  
  
By the time they got there, Lee had worked himself into an internal frenzy, and he blurted out his proposition without giving them any background at all. “You two need each other, and I need both of you.” He gestured to Zarek, but spoke to Kara, “I don’t think I’ll ever think of him as Tom,” then looked at Zarek, “and I’m even less certain that I’ll ever want to frak you,” then he paced some more, “but we each have things to offer that the others need. I’m proposing you two move in with me.”  
  
He never remembered exactly what either of them said, but he did recall that Kara hugged him, and Zarek carefully hugged them both, and in the weeks that followed, they cautiously began crafting this new...partnership. There were definitely growing pains, but Kara seemed happy and Zarek....was growing on him.


	2. Ultimatum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dee

Lee stopped short in the doorway into the sleeping quarters. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared. Kara and Dee made a point to only be in the bed together when he was there. Right now, not only were they in the same bed, but they were both asleep, Kara on the outside of the bunk spooned around Dee.

***

Kara and Dee stared at the hatch with something akin to horror. Lee had just exited through said hatch, right after delivering an ultimatum. “I want you both, full-time. Figure out a way to make that happen peacefully. I’m sick of the fighting.”  
  
Kara, true to form, tried to make a joke. “Who was that, and what did he do with Lee?”  
  
Dee was NOT amused. “Starbuck!”  
  
Kara waved her off. “You know what? I’m outta here. You can have him.”  
  
Lee made it clear over the next few days that he had been completely serious, so Kara found Dee in the mess and gingerly sat down across from her.   
  
“Guess we really have to do this, but I think it’s stupid.”  
  
Dee looked at her impassively. “Noted. Much as I hate this myself, I’m not willing to give him up.”  
  
“I am,” Kara lied airily, “but he said I wasn’t allowed.” She glared at an imaginary Lee Adama. “He threatened to  _spank_  me!”  
  
Dee raised a brow. The way Starbuck was sitting, she wondered if maybe he already had.  
  
“In other circumstances, I might just say, ‘Kinky, Lee’ and let him, but I don’t think he meant the sexy kind, and anyway, it’s hard to fly a Viper when you can’t sit down. I’ve tried.”  
  
Again Dee raised a brow, but there might have been a hint of a smile at the corners of her eyes.  
  
“You gonna say anything?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, I am, Starbuck.” She corrected herself, “Kara. I have actually thought about how to make this work. First thing we can do is stagger our schedules, at least as much as circumstances allow us to. It’s not precisely what he asked us to do, but the less time we spend in quarters together, the better I’ll like it.”  
  
“Agreed.”  
  
They went on in that vein. If they were both scheduled with an off night, Kara would take the couch, unless Lee was there. It wasn’t fair, but Kara was more likely to be called out at a moment’s notice. Kara was fine with continuing to shower in the public head, and Dee preferred to use the en suite. If they wanted to spend time with friends, they’d go out to do it, rather than inviting them in. The quarters would be for sleeping and for being with Lee. If they were all sleeping in the same bed, they’d keep Lee in the middle. There would be no frakking between the two women.  
  
Now Kara was the one to raise an eyebrow. “You’re not exactly  _my_  type, either, but what if Lee wants us both in there, for...” she smirked at Dee, “...frakking? You gonna tell him no? Oh, you know what? You should. Then he might spank you instead of me.”  
  
Dee slumped just the tiniest bit. “Ugh. I mean I have no problem with other people’s choices, but I have never had the slightest interest in women. Frankly, I can’t imagine anyone I want to frak less.”  
  
Kara lit up with malicious glee. “Not even Ellen Tigh?”  
  
Dee couldn’t help it; she giggled at the sheer monstrosity of the idea. “Oh, gods! OK, yes. I’d rather frak you than Ellen Tigh.”  
  
“We’ll just have to do everything in our power to make sure neither happens. Anything else? ‘Cause apparently I have to move my crap out of the bunkroom before CAP. Frakker.”

***

Kara and Dee moved into Lee’s quarters. They followed their new rules, with a sticky moment here and there. They were both profoundly grateful that Lee had been satisfied with their bedroom arrangements so far, though they would occasionally look at each other and say ‘Ellen Tigh’ and burst into giggles. Life was mostly calm, aside from the Cylons constantly chasing them.

***

Lee stripped down to his boxer briefs and approached the bunk. He put his hand on Kara’s shoulder and whispered “Kara” into her ear.   
  
“Hmm? Lee? W..th..frak?” she mumbled sleepily.  
  
“You probably want me in the middle.”  
  
Kara stiffened slightly and looked at Dee. “Gods. I don’t even remember getting into bed.” She scooted away from Dee to make room for him, then snuggled in tightly behind him and was asleep again before he could say anything.  
  
It wasn’t world peace, but it was progress. He’d take it.


	3. Love Sneaks In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellen

When Kara had come back from New Caprica, she’d been different - quieter in some ways, harsher in others. She spoke kindly, almost lovingly, of Saul Tigh, and she’d developed a protective friendship with Ellen. Lee didn’t begin to fathom what they might have in common other than drinking, but the weird thing was, he never saw either of them doing that any more.  
  
He and Kara mended their friendship and he began to think maybe, just maybe, they’d get back to where they were that night on New Caprica. He never expected for Kara to be the one to broach the subject, and when she said, “But Lee, there’s something you need to know...” he braced himself for whatever she was going to tell him.  
  
He’d accepted her proposal, because really, when, since the moment he’d met her, had he been able to deny her? Even so, he’d been uncomfortable with the new parameters of their relationship, and wary of Ellen Tigh and her place in it. He’d held himself back from Ellen, and so it was a shock when he realized that he loved her, too. Not less or more, just differently.   
  
The reasons for it surprised him. She and Kara shared an unquenchable passion for life. She had Kara’s brutal honesty, but tempered it with tact and diplomacy. Sometimes. She loved Kara with a tenderness that he wasn’t allowed. And to be quite frank, she’d taught Kara a thing or two in the bedroom, and she never had a headache.   
  
He had Kara, and he had the woman Kara could become in twenty years. And somehow, he loved them both.


	4. Snapshot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat

Lee barely looked up when Kara came into the office. He was poring over reports of isolated attempts at sabotage on the civilian ships, trying to determine what, if anything, he should recommend when his dad requested an investigation.  
  
When Kara sat on his lap, he was pissed at the interruption at first, but she didn’t talk, just put her arm around his neck and her head on his shoulder. He did his best to regain his focus, but whatever his mind wanted, his body knew that  _Kara_  was snuggled in his lap. Then Kat came in, fresh from her shower after CAP and it was so easy to lean his head into her braless cleavage as her arm went around him.   
  
He never understood how his girls communicated certain things without speaking, but when they both starting rubbing their fingertips ever-so-lightly over his neck or his ears, he gave in to the inevitable. “Guess this means it’s time to tuck Lee into bed?”  
  
They both laughed, and Kara playfully growled into his chest, “If that’s what you wanna call it, Lee...we can tuck you in.” She and Kat both snorted at the innuendo and dragged him off to bed.


	5. Weird But True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl

It had all started when Kara went missing. Not the first time, when she crashed on the moon, no. The second time, when she disappeared for months.

Apollo and Helo took to meeting every few days to drink and talk about Kara and sometimes, to cry. Everybody knew the realities of war - every day was a day when someone you loved might not come back - but neither one of them really expected that someone to ever be Kara Thrace. Anyway, they took comfort in each other, and when that comfort increasingly turned physical, Lee and Karl didn’t talk about it, but never refused each other, either.   
  
Kara showed back up, Viper more than battered enough to aggravate Chief and her computer so frakked Gaeta never figured out how she’d still been flying. The mystery of her quarter tank of fuel was also never explained.   
  
Helo was on deck and still somehow Apollo beat him to Kara when they landed their Vipers, but not by much. He hugged them both, with Kara squeezing back just as tightly, all caught up in the miracle the two men had always known Kara Thrace to be.  
  
There were hours of debriefings and reports to write and an airlock to barely avoid - _that Laura Roslin had gotten cranky while she was gone!_ When Kara showed up exhausted at Lee’s hatch, and Karl answered shirtless, she never even blinked an eye, just took the “Oh, gods, welcome back!” kisses in stride. It wasn’t until months later that it occurred to her to wonder when  _that_  had happened, and by then, she was just happy they’d had each other while she was gone, and grateful that this trio of broken people had become a family.


	6. Never Bet Against Starbuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam

_You’re fine with the dead guys. It’s the living ones you can’t deal with._  
  
Lee’s words ring in her ears as she strides furiously down the corridor. She stops and sways sadly for a moment, looks over her shoulder at the hatch that is not quite out of sight, thinks about that kiss and ‘I love you’ on the Astral Queen and marches back determinedly. She snatches open the hatch and confronts Lee.  
  
“You know what? Fine. You want this?” She strips her bra over her head and corners him against the bunk. “How about a little wager? We’ll take what we can get. And I’ll bet you that I’ll find a way back to Caprica. If Sam’s dead, you’re out nothing but a good time with me, now and whenever you want. If he’s alive and I bring him back...you have to frak him, too. Us. Together. I get both of you.”  
  
Lee’s mind whirls. Starbuck rarely loses a bet, but this seems like a sure thing. How could the guy possibly still be alive now, much less at some nebulous time in the future when she finally convinces someone to let her go back to Caprica? “Done. Shake on it?” He holds out his hand  _in front of her naked breasts oh, gods_.  
  
Kara’s laugh has an edge of mania in it. “Oh, we’ll seal the deal, Lee, but it’s not your hand I’ll be shaking. You’ve got better things to do with it, anyway.”  
  
***  
  
Months later, Lee walks into the bunkroom and Kara bounces over and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her and takes a moment to enjoy the feel of her. She breathes in his ear, “He looks pretty alive to me, Lee.” Louder, she asks, “You wanna meet my man?”  
  
“Your man?”  
  
“Mmm-hmm. My personal property.” She stands next to Lee as they both look across the room at Sam Anders. He doesn’t know what Kara’s thinking but all Lee can think is  _Frak. Oh, bad choice of words, Lee._  He walks over and offers his hand to Anders, exchanges a few words of greeting, then watches Kara make out with her new ‘personal property’ for a few seconds. He decides to make his escape while she’s distracted.   
  
Luck is with him for days; Kara stays busy frakking her new man whenever she’s not on duty, but the new wears off sooner than Lee likes. He’s not prepared when Kara hunts him down. “You gonna make good on that bet?”  
  
He cringes inside, and tries to back out. “Kara, we were both drunk. It was months ago. A week later I’d forgotten all about it.” He doesn’t tell her the real truth - he’s never done that and honestly, Anders’ size is a little intimidating if he lets himself think about it.  
  
“You remembered enough to be frakkin’ me all this time, Lee. It’s time to pay up. No excuses.”  
  
Lee wakes up the next morning, uncomfortably tangled between Anders and Kara, sore in places he hasn’t exercised that vigorously in a while. Kara startles him when she reaches around and runs a finger down Anders’ face. “How do you like your new man, Lee?”  
  
“Huhwhahuh?” is his very elegant response. “My new man?”  
  
“Mmmmm.” She rubs herself against his back. “Did you forget that part, too, Lee? I said I get both of you. You’re both mine now, and we’re both yours. So?”  
  
He opens his mouth but Anders  _I guess I should start calling him Sam now_  chooses that moment to wrap a hand around Lee’s morning wood and take his mouth in a thorough kiss.  
  
Kara chuckles behind him. “Good answer. Gods, that’s hot.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helena Cain

“Reporting as ordered, Sir.”

“Captain. Major. At ease.” They relaxed to parade rest.

“We’re going to be approaching the ops base outside the system soon, and I want to be sure you're clear on the parameters of this trade mission.” Commander Cain looked at each of them in turn. “We know from our recon teams that triple marriages are the norm on this planet. It’s a matriarchal society, as well, which complicates things even more.”

Kara raised a brow in inquiry.

Cain nodded. “Captain. Permission to speak.”

“We both understand the mission, Sir, and we’re prepared to depart as soon as you give the word.”

Cain looked at Lee. “Major? You’re certain you understand your place? There are recorders almost everywhere, including private spaces, and we cannot have a misstep once we're in radio range of the planet.”

“Yes, Sir. We’re a Triad. As the male, I’m the least important of us. I anticipate your every need. I perform sexually on command, even if asked to do so in public. I do not speak to anyone other than you or Kara without explicit permission. I have no personal opinions even in private quarters. I keep my eyes open. I carry things. I respond discreetly to the feelers the rogue traders extend. I acquire the merchandise if possible, or arrange a meeting for you if necessary.” Lee was outwardly calm, but inside, he was nervous as hell. He didn’t have this kind of field experience and he knew he was on this mission solely on Kara’s recommendation.

“Very well.” When the phone rang, Cain answered. “Excellent.”

She turned to Lee and Kara. “We depart in fifteen. Good hunting.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Crime and Punishment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035851) by [lanalucy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy)




End file.
